The biggest sporting event held annually in Portugal will once again bring the stars of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) to the northern and central stretches of the country from May 9 to 12. Three world champions and seven former race winners head the entry list for the Vodafone Rally de Portugal, the biggest of the season so far, with 69 teams from 22 nationalities. After achieving a record economic impact in 2023, the Automóvel Club de Portugal (ACP) event promises to once again attract around one million people in 15 municipalities across the country.
On its way to its 57th edition, the Vodafone Rally de Portugal continues to be one of the most iconic rallies in the world, inaugurating, as usual, the European dirt stage of the WRC. With a route very similar to that of 2023, with a total length of 1,690.12 kilometers and 337.04 timed kilometers (compared to 335.26 in 2023), the great novelty is the layout of 22 qualifying specials, a number that hasn't been reached since the 2012 edition.
And proof of the appeal of the ACP event is the fact that even drivers who aren't competing in the full championship, such as world champions Sébastien Ogier and Kalle Rovanperä, are keen to take part in the Vodafone Rally de Portugal, reinforcing a list that includes seven former winners of the event: Ogier, Rovanperä, Elfyn Evans, Ott Tänak, Thierry Neuville, Kris Meeke and Armindo Araújo, the latter two now at the wheel of Rally2 category cars.
Hyundai - Toyota duel in full swing
A total of 69 teams of 22 nationalities are entered for the Vodafone Rally de Portugal, the largest list of the WRC season so far. This is the fifth event on the World Championship calendar and the fourth in the Portuguese Rally Championship, which, as usual, will award its points at the end of Friday's stage (May 10).
The reigning World Champions, Toyota Gazoo Racing, will be in full force in Portugal: in addition to their two full-time drivers, Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta, they will also bring the returning Sébastien Ogier, the most successful driver in the history of the Rally de Portugal, tied with Markku Alén (five wins), and the two-time reigning World Champion, Kalle Rovanperä, who won the recent Safari Rally - Kenya and is aiming for a third consecutive victory in the Vodafone Rally de Portugal.
On the other hand, Hyundai Shell Mobis leads the Drivers' World Championship through Thierry Neuville, who opened the year with an impressive victory in Monte Carlo, but saw his lead over Evans shrink to six points after Safari and ahead of this weekend's Rally Croatia. Ott Tänak is Hyundai's other strong contender for victory in Portugal, as is veteran Dani Sordo, runner-up in the ACP event in 2021 and 2023.
M-Sport Ford will once again hand over their Puma Rally1s to Adrien Fourmaux, one of the good surprises of the start of the season with podiums in Sweden and Kenya, and the less experienced Grégoire Munster. In all, there will be nine cars in the premier class in Portugal, one more than in last year's edition.
The Rally2 category, on the other hand, has an impressive list of 40 entries, by far the largest of the season so far. The WRC2 race features all the main figures in the Rally2 World Championship, such as championship leader Oliver Solberg (Skoda), who will be trying to avenge the victory he lost last year in Portugal, due to a spin - and subsequent penalty - in the Lousada Super Special. Gus Greensmith (Skoda) and Yohan Rossel (Citroën) are just behind the Norwegian in the World Championship, but there are several other big names in the line-up in Portugal: Teemu Suninen (Hyundai), Nikolay Gryazin (Citroën), Pepe López (Skoda), Sami Pajari (Toyota), Georg Linnamäe (Toyota) and Jan Solans (Toyota), to name but a few.
The CPR's main competitors are also strengthening the entry list, with Kris Meeke (Hyundai), Armindo Araújo (Skoda), Ricardo Teodósio (Hyundai), José Pedro Fontes (Citroën), Ernesto Cunha (Skoda) or Lucas Simões (Ford), are also joined by CPR 2RM drivers such as Gonçalo Henriques (Renault), Hugo Lopes (Peugeot), Pedro Silva (Peugeot), Kevin Saraiva (Peugeot) or Diogo Marujo (Peugeot), among others.
Among the Rally3 drivers, the clash between the best Ford Fiesta drivers, such as WRC3 leader Jan Cerny, and the Renault Clio drivers, such as Ghjuvanni Rossi or Matteo Chatillon, is a highlight.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
The biggest sporting event held annually in Portugal will once again bring the stars of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) to the northern and central stretches of the country from May 9 to 12. Three world champions and seven former race winners head the entry list for the Vodafone Rally de Portugal, the biggest of the season so far, with 69 teams from 22 nationalities. After achieving a record economic impact in 2023, the Automóvel Club de Portugal (ACP) event promises to once again attract around one million people in 15 municipalities across the country.
On its way to its 57th edition, the Vodafone Rally de Portugal continues to be one of the most iconic rallies in the world, inaugurating, as usual, the European gravel season of the WRC. With a route very similar to that of 2023, with a total length of 1,690.12 kilometers and 337.04 timed kilometers (compared to 335.26 in 2023), the great novelty is the layout of 22 special specials, a number that hasn't been reached since the 2012 edition.
And proof of the appeal of the ACP event is the fact that even drivers who aren't competing in the full championship, such as world champions Sébastien Ogier and Kalle Rovanperä, are keen to take part in the Vodafone Rally de Portugal, reinforcing a list that includes seven former winners of the event: Ogier, Rovanperä, Elfyn Evans, Ott Tänak, Thierry Neuville, Kris Meeke and Armindo Araújo, the latter two now at the wheel of Rally2 category cars.
Hyundai vs Toyota duel in full swing
A total of 69 teams of 22 nationalities are entered for the Vodafone Rally de Portugal, the largest list of the WRC season so far. This is the fifth event on the World Championship calendar and the fourth in the Portuguese Rally Championship, which, as usual, will award its points at the end of Friday's stage (May 10).
The reigning World Champions, Toyota Gazoo Racing, will be in full force in Portugal: in addition to their two full-time drivers, Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta, they will also bring the returning Sébastien Ogier, the most successful driver in the history of the Rally de Portugal, tied with Markku Alén (five wins), and the two-time reigning World Champion, Kalle Rovanperä, who won the recent Safari Rally Kenya and is aiming for a third consecutive victory in the Vodafone Rally de Portugal.
On the other hand, Hyundai Shell Mobis leads the Drivers' World Championship through Thierry Neuville, who opened the year with an impressive victory in Monte Carlo, but saw his lead over Evans shrink to six points after Safari and ahead of this weekend's Rally Croatia. Ott Tänak is Hyundai's other strong contender for victory in Portugal, as is veteran Dani Sordo, runner-up in the ACP event in 2021 and 2023.
M-Sport Ford will once again hand over their Puma Rally1s to Adrien Fourmaux, one of the good surprises of the start of the season with podiums in Sweden and Kenya, and the less experienced Grégoire Munster. In all, there will be nine cars in the premier class in Portugal, one more than in last year's edition.
The Rally2 category, on the other hand, has an impressive list of 40 entries, by far the largest of the season so far. The WRC2 race features all the main figures in the Rally2 World Championship, such as championship leader Oliver Solberg (Skoda), who will be trying to avenge the victory he lost last year in Portugal, due to a spin - and subsequent penalty - in the Lousada Super Special. Gus Greensmith (Skoda) and Yohan Rossel (Citroën) are just behind the Norwegian in the World Championship, but there are several other big names in the line-up in Portugal: Teemu Suninen (Hyundai), Nikolay Gryazin (Citroën), Pepe López (Skoda), Sami Pajari (Toyota), Georg Linnamäe (Toyota) and Jan Solans (Toyota), to name but a few.
The CPR's main competitors are also strengthening the entry list, with Kris Meeke (Hyundai), Armindo Araújo (Skoda), Ricardo Teodósio (Hyundai), José Pedro Fontes (Citroën), Ernesto Cunha (Skoda) or Lucas Simões (Ford), are also joined by CPR 2RM drivers such as Gonçalo Henriques (Renault), Hugo Lopes (Peugeot), Pedro Silva (Peugeot), Kevin Saraiva (Peugeot) or Diogo Marujo (Peugeot), among others.
Among the Rally3 drivers, the clash between the best Ford Fiesta drivers, such as WRC3 leader Jan Cerny, and the Renault Clio drivers, such as Ghjuvanni Rossi or Matteo Chatillon, is a highlight.